The investigation into a Juárez candy factory explosion last month in which six workers were killed and 53 others were injured is ongoing and will not involve any U.S. or El Paso agencies.

Because the factory has El Paso ties, it was speculated by the Mexican media that U.S. agencies would be involved in determining the cause.

The Juárez Civil Protection Office announced Friday that the investigation into the explosion on Oct. 24 will continue until the cause is found.

"The Attorney General for the State of Chihuahua and the Civil Protection Office will be the sole participants in this investigation," said Sandra Hernández, spokeswoman for the civil protection office.

There is no set deadline for the investigation to conclude.

Hernandez said that Juárez Civil Protection Office Director Fernando Mota Allen had asked for an extensive inquest to investigate the possible reasons for the explosion.

More than 50 workers were seriously injured after a portion of the structure collapsed following a blast that originated in one of the boilers.

The first fatal victim was a 20-year-old man whose charred body was found under the rubble. Two other workers, an 18-year-old and a 41-year-old, died within two days after the incident in different Juárez hospitals.

Assistant Director for the Civil Protection Office Efrén Matamoros had said previously that the findings could have been revealed as early as Friday.

Advertisement

The factory belonged to Sunrise Confections and is located at the Fernández industrial complex. Sunrise Confections is a part of Mount Franklin Foods, which also operates the Azar Nut Company in El Paso.

The Mexican company Elamex owns Mount Franklin Foods, which is located at 1800 Northwestern Drive.

Attempts to contact the company were made, but as of Friday afternoon messages had not been returned.

On its website, Mount Franklin Foods says it serves "major retailers, wholesalers, and food service distributors through our Sunrise Confections and Azar Nut divisions, and employ more than 2,500 team members across El Paso, Texas and Juarez."

The company's website also says it has two candy factories under the name of Sunrise Confections in Juárez.

Elamex's website describes the company as "involved in the production of food items related to its candy manufacturing and nut packaging operations as well as real estate holdings in Mexico.